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Toyota Hilux launches innovative interactive 'Hilux Man-Up' campaign

Toyota Hilux is on the lookout for South Africa's toughest man and has launched a broad-reaching communications campaign to find him.

All elements of the interactive campaign - including traditional above-the-line executions as well as digital elements - challenge South Africans to sign up for the 'Hilux Man-Up Challenge'.

Winning is all about scoring points... Man Points... in an interactive game that will separate the manliest man from the pretenders to the throne, and reward him with a bakkie tough enough to match his persona, a Hilux 3.0 D-4D Double Cab Raised Body Raider kitted out with R30 000 worth of manly accessories.


Click here to view the ad [5MB]

And, in the words of Toyota's Senior Manager Marketing Communications Planning and Advertising, Pieter Klerck, that means no fluffy pink dice.

"It's time to celebrate, because the age of the namby-pamby man is over," he said, tongue-firmly-in-cheek.

"The real man is back. No more floral pink shirts. No more back waxes, crying, chick flicks or phoning a handyman. We want to remind people what it means to be a real man. What it means to be a tough guy. And, most importantly, what kind of vehicle this kind of man should drive. A Toyota Hilux.


Click here to view the ad [5MB]

"So, it's time for South African men to man-up and honour over 40 years of Hilux Tough with the Hilux Man-Up Challenge. The person with the most Man Points at the end of the three-month campaign wins. Simple. Like a real man," he said.

Man Points are accumulated by doing tough things, saying tough things and being an all-round tough guy. High-value Man Cards will also be given out to customers who come in to test-drive a Hilux. These Man Points can then be redeemed on the website, www.hiluxmanup.co.za. Once a competitor is registered on the website, more Man Points can be earned by completing various manly online challenges and participating in manly activities.

But, there's a catch: participants don't just gain Man Points, they can lose them too.

"When your buddy calls the missus to check if he can go out, he loses Man Points; when he flips the chops with his fingers instead of the tongs, he wins points; you get the picture," said Klerck.

"The idea is that they become part of everyday man-conversations for the next few months, a conversation that is intended to draw attention to Hilux's 40 bakkie years of heritage and legendary toughness."

The highly interactive, carefully crafted and exquisitely programmed website is the engine of the campaign. It was designed and brought to life by interactive specialist agency, Mesh, led by creative director Kabelo Moshapalo working to the strategy and look & feel developed by Toyota's long-standing communications partner, Draftfcb Johannesburg.

Draftfcb Johannesburg delivered all traditional advertising elements while the team from Mesh, which developed three different games each comprising three levels for the site, will also project manage the three-month campaign and take sole responsibility for populating it with rich content on a weekly basis.

"I'm exceptionally proud of the team behind the Hilux Man-Up Challenge," said head of Mesh, Prakash Patel.

"Their imagination and passion for the brand, attention to detail, commitment to deadlines and sheer professionalism are nothing short of world-class. It shows in the work, which I am certain will become one of Toyota fans' favourites over the next few months."

The statistics are on track to prove Patel right: in just one week after sending out just one email, 2 232 fans had registered to participate in the challenge and a phenomenal 1 130 had uploaded content to the site; this confirming that the campaign had grabbed their attention and drawn them in.

According to Draftfcb Johannesburg's group account director, Mike Di Terlizzi, the role of all other campaign communication is to drive people to register on the website. The communication channels include TV, radio, online, email, outdoor, posters, mystery locations (like in the online Hilux brochure), flyers and word of mouth.

"This is definitely a don't-take-yourself-too-seriously campaign," he said. "After all, which real man does? The light-hearted approach is core of all our communication, but reinforces the need to accumulate Man Points to stand a chance to win that very Tough Prize, a Hilux.

"For example, one of our television executions - there are four in total but one will probably be reserved for a viral campaign - opens with a man cuddling a kitten - that's minus Man Points. However, the camera pans back to show him pointing to where he found the kitten; up a tree - that's plus man points. And then, it shows why he rescued it; a rather buxom and very appreciative young woman! That's Man Points Plus.

"Buddy also gets in on the action; he's featured on our building wraps and in our print ads, again stressing the point of the game by asking pertinent questions: man or mouse, silverback or yellow belly.

"Hat's off to everyone involved in the campaign for embracing the concept and understanding how to drive it home to our core target market, males 35-years and older. Of course, we expect a number of the fairer sex to enter ... and will be delighted if they do ... but we suspect their presence on the leader board will only spur our South African men to higher heights of manliness."

The first of 12 emails (one a week for the three-month campaign) broke the campaign on November 4, the first hoardings were unveiled during that week and the first of the television and radio campaigns aired nationwide on November 13.

Credits:

Client: Kerry Roodt- General Manager: Marketing Communications; Pieter Klerck - Senior Manager: Marketing Communications Planning and Advertising
Creative agency: Draftfcb Johannesburg
Key account management:
Group Business Director: Colleen Berrange
Group Account Director: Michael Di Terlizzi
Account Director: Nicholas Harpur
Group chief creative officer: Brett Morris
Executive creative director: James Cloete
Deputy creative director: Tian Van den Heever
Copywriter: Sindiwe Mbiko
Art director: Kevin Yong and Ivor Forrestor
Strategic planner: Liesel Eales
TV production: Wakhile Sithole and Ayanda Tshabalala
Media planners: Gwen Bezuidenhout and Anthea de Abreu
Production companies: Bouffant
Director: Dean Bloomberg
Editor: Tessa Ford
Post-production: Tessa Ford Post Production
Digital agency: Mesh
Creative Director: Kabelo Moshapalo
Group Account Director: Lara DeAngeli
Designers: Sibu Mbatha, Sibu Mkhwanazi, Nkosana Dube, Adriaan Van Vuuren
Project Management: Julia Bassett-Powell
Developers: Stefan Keiner, Johan Pieterse

Examples from website - earning more Man Points

1. TOUGH GUY TRIVIA - WEEK 1

1. The last time you were in a bakkie, you were:

A. Standing in the back, shouting, with your shirt off.
B. Driving to the dam for a weekend with the boys.
C. Asleep in the passenger seat. Shirt on.

1 - Loud and proud. I like your style!
2 - Acceptable, as long as you were listening to rock.
3 - Catch a wake-up Mrs. Daisy.

2. How many visible injuries do you have?

A. You're wearing a bandage, sling, eye-patch or using a crutch/walking stick.
B. A few cuts, scrapes or bruises here and there.
C. One mean shaving rash. Eina.

1 - You're a tough guy.
2 - You could be tougher guy.
3 - Sure you're a guy?

3. A clean bakkie is:

A. Like a unicorn - mythical.
B. A pleasure to drive.
C. A safe bakkie.

1 - Too true.
2 - Could be true, I guess.
3 - False, like your sense of machismo.

4. A piece of food falls on the floor, what do you do?

A. Pick it up and eat it while it still has the extra flavour. Yummy!
B. Check that no one saw, wash it off and put it back on your plate.
C. Ewwwwwwww! Chuck it in the bin.

1 - Man you're right!
2 - Man, that's weak.
3 - You didn't even give it to the dog man.

5. Your idea of a contact sport is:

A. A game in which someone can break, sprain, bleed from or lose any part of their body.
B. A game in which contact is made between a player and a ball, of any sort.
C. A game in which a player must contact the club at least a day before, so as to book in advance.

1 - You know it! Did someone shout "medic!"
2 - Close, but as any man will tell you, no pain no game.
3 - C'mon dude. Chess is for squares.

WEEK ONE SCORING

5/5 - Hoooooyaaaaaa! Congrats on being the alpha male!
3 or 4/5 - You're not the top dog, but you're pretty close.
1 or 2/5 - Not at the front of the pack, but not at the back.
0 - You're the underdog. Do something about it.
Minus points - You're the runt. It's a miracle you made it this far.

22 Nov 2010 16:26

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